Romney’s Paul Ryan VP Pick Pleases War Hawks

Presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney has chosen Rep. Paul Ryan to run for his Vice President slot and although Ryan has built an unearned reputation as a deficit hawk, the pick has also pleased foreign policy hawks.

Rep. Paul Ryan made a name for himself as the chairman of the House Budget Committee as someone willing to put forth deep cuts in government spending. Last year he authored a spending bill that was advertised as slashing $38 billion in government spending, even though the Congressional Budget Office found he would actually only cut $325 million overall, which is which is inconsequential enough to the overall budget for it to have not happened at all.

But Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Howard “Buck” McKeon, told Newsweek’s Daily Beast he has worked closely with Ryan to come up with ways to avoid making any significant cuts to defense. Specifically, to avoid sequestration cuts, which Ryan and other hawks have described as too deep, but which would only cut defense spending back to 2007 levels.

As Danielle Pletka, vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at the hawkish American Enterprise Institute, told the Daily Beast, “Unlike a lot of fiscal conservatives, one of the great things about Paul Ryan is he is not omni-directionally a budget cutter,” meaning he knows better than to cut a red cent from America’s enormous and wasteful defense budget.

The Daily Beast has also confirmed that Ryan has been receiving briefings from Elliot Abrams, former Reagan apparatchik and George W. Bush’s former Middle East director at the National Security Council. Fred Kagan, a leading neoconservative and “one of the architects of the military surges in Iraq and Afghanistan,” has also been meeting with Ryan to coach him on foreign policy.

Paul Ryan has also been praised by Jamie Fly, executive director of the uber-hawkish Foreign Policy Initiative, a neoconservative think tank that has advocated regime change in Iran, military action in Syria to depose the regime there, and criticized the US withdrawal from Iraq.

In a June 2011 foreign policy speech, Ryan heralded so-called American Exceptionalism and criticized “isolationism,” arguing that “America is the greatest force for human freedom the world has ever seen,” leaving out the fact that the US props up dictatorships all around the world and engages in near constant aggression and violence.

Author: John Glaser

Are Eliot Abrams and Fred Kagan dual Israeli-American citizens? If they are, they should be excluded from making any input into what foreign poiicy is best for the USA. Dual citizens in our Senate and House are constantly inacting motions that are only beneficial to the State of Israel at the expense of the American tax payer.

richard vajs

JDonald,
You must be from some planet where common sense and logic are respected.
Welcome to the USA and Planet Earth where our dual citizenship Congress does constantly inact motions only beneficial to the land-stealing, racist State of Israel at the expense of the American tax payer.
Please sign in our visitor's logbook and help yourself to a free roadmap and motel guide.

sleepy

I doubt if either two are dual citizens of Israel and the US.

As they are jewish, they are entitled to immigrate to Israel and receive immediate citizenship.

But, I think it's one of those issues where it's a distinction without a difference as both adhere to the belief that Israel and the US are one–as do Obama, Biden, and Romney for that matter.

JLS

"In a June 2011 foreign policy speech, Ryan heralded so-called American Exceptionalism and criticized ”isolationism,” argued that “America is the greatest force for human freedom the world has ever seen,”"

This is the same rationale used by Dr. Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Commision on Ethics (a huge influence throughout neoconservative circles) when he affirmed that American exceptionalism consisted of being the great force for freedom. Imo if people who support an aggressive interventionist foreign policy could be brought to see that America is not only not the freest country in the world but actually one of the most restricted and regulated, then this knowledge would greatly undercut the whole case for interventionism.

Bottom line-we need more articles about how unfree America is compared to other countries and compared to what it used to be.

Kolya_Krassotkin

'This is the same rationale used by Dr. Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Commision on Ethics (a huge influence throughout neoconservative circles) when he affirmed that American exceptionalism consisted of being the great force for freedom.'

I detest these exponents of American exceptionalism. It's a philosophy that all of them, to a man, is happy to expound because it's never them or their children being used as cannon fodder to maintain the US as the "great force of freedom[sic].".

If Willard Romney and Paul Ryan want more wars, then let them take up arms and be the first in line when the shooting starts. No doubt each will be pleased as punch for the chance to "do his bit."

Peacegeek

Before his election to Congress, Ryan was employed by Empower America a right-wing think tank founded by Jeane Kirkpatrick and William Bennett. After a merger in 2004, Empower America is now part of Freedom Works, a radical right-wing think tank backed by the Tea Party. Jeane Kirkpatrick was Ronald Reagan's UN Ambassador who was a strong anti-communist who attempted to exonerate the government of El Salvador for the torture, rape and murder of three Roman Catholic nuns from the USA. Bill Bennett was severely addicted to gambling and on air he stated that the abortion of African American babies would produce a drop in the crime rate. Ryan's major inspiration is none other than Ayn Rand. Ryan is a radical right-wing lunatic, every vote that can be mustered against him should be mobilized on Election Day, November 6th.

heathroi

the problem he isnt radical at all. Just the usual out for his buddies and whoever stuffs his pockets full of cash republican ,just he's more open about cutting anybody else schemes.

james

Seriously now, did anybody think he will choose a Ghandi as his running mate? This is what is expected form these people.

Fedup

Another Israel firster

for sight

Of coarse, if not he would, could not be selected. soon to come, his obligatory trip to the master, Israel.

curmudgeonvt

What's at stake here is more ideological wars of choice and a devastating blow to seniors and poor who rely upon Social Security and Medicare. Ryan made it quite clear in his so-called budget plan (which was trashed by many (most) knowledgeable economists as smoke and mirrors) that the basis of his plan was to dismantle SS and Medicare so they could fund the empire of American Exceptionalism abroad.

It should be relatively easy to turn the majority of seniors against Romney/Ryan because if I remember correctly when Ryan was pushing his plan at Townhall meetings that when the question came up, they changed the subject and could/would not answer what would happen to SS/Medicare.

TooTrue

Paul Ryan is the embodiment of the Tea Party's descent from a freedom movement into an evangelical, neocon movement.

Fakhmi Kharder

His face doubtless resembles a mentally retarded individual.

Tonyandoc

Having ties with Ireland, as Paul Ryan's family does, I view the Romney /Ryan ticket much as the poor in Ireland must have felt as they faced devastation by the famine and were offered "solutions" promoted by UK PM John Russell and Charles Trevelyan. The policy then was similar to Ryan's; preserve the "free market" – then called laissez faire – at all costs and make the middle class pay for the cost of feeding the destitute – at market price for foodstuff, of course! Ryan has moved a long way from his roots and even further from the teachings of the Founders – the Founders of the catholic Church, that is.

Johnny_Warbucks

What a set! Holy smokes! If you thought Bush and Cheney were bad…well, lower your pants and bend over! I just can't wait to hear what Ron Paulinites have to say about this alliance from hell.

james

But do not worry, the other puke Obummer will win anyway with his own angle of waging war and supporting the shitty little state. All the same coin but different faces.

NowMoreThanEver

Nothing fun about "lesser evilism," I think. But, in you live in California, at least you can vote to require GMOs to be labeled as such so that the buyers can beware.

for sight

The chosen people (Israelis) and the exceptional people (Americans) together fighting for freedom, truth, justice and the Israeli way. America's blood and money, Israel cheering the US on, what a unbeatable duo.